Fun in the Sun
by kingjohn117
Summary: The events of one summer with a group of friends. Some tensions are high, some relationships will be tested, maybe even broken apart. In the end the friends simply enjoy the summer and the memories they shared. Contains MarikxRyou, YamixYugi, MalikxBakura, fluff, shipping, yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, John here thanks for reading my fanfic! Its my first one and constructive criticism would be appreciated! Have fun reading!**

It was a hot Saturday afternoon for Yugi and Yami. The two had gone to the mall earlier that day to set up for Ryou's birthday and Marik had been _very _specific with the details. Yugi thought it was sweet that Marik cared so much about Ryou and that he was happy. Yami on the other hand was annoyed that his day of planned relaxing and tanning in their large backyard was forfeit to help his hikari and his friends set up for Ryou's birthday.

"This is looking great you guys!" yelled Marik enthusiastically after bursting through the decks double doors.

"I really hope he loves all the planning and effort that went into this" answered Yugi still hanging up the last of the colorful streamers.

"Now be careful Yugi, I don't want to ruin Ryou's party by taking you to the hospital" called Yami, watching the boy very carefully as he scaled the deck railing. Yami saw it as if it happened in slow motion. Yami saw his hiakri start to lose his balance.

"Oh shiiii-"screamed Yugi, but was cut off by the swift catch of his darker half. "y- you saved me" stammered Yugi.

"I will always be here to catch you if you fall" responded the pharaoh. The two looked deep into each other's amethyst eyes before Marik broke in

"Starting the party early are we?!" this caused both of the boys to blush and Yami quickly set Yugi on the ground.

"Never!" shouted Yami, now looking for a way out of this awkward situation.

"Don't be embarrassed you two are dating and you're _so_ cute together!" Marik giggled. "We still need the table set up and the tent that goes over it all."

"It's all in the garage" said Yugi "me and Yami will go and get it" Marik looked at the both of them and gave a sly smile

"don't get to distracted when you are getting them! The party starts in an hour." Yugi blushed a deep crimson before the pharaoh grabbed his shoulder and replied coyly "we'll see what we can do, but no promises!"

Yami held one end of the table and Yugi held the other. His hikari had begged to help Yami carry the table even though he could have carried it on his own. "Now lean it to the left… and… got it!" The two of them had to bring the tables out of the back door of the garage which always seemed smaller when carrying large objects. "Watch your fingers Yami the door is pretty small." Said Yugi after getting his end through the door way. They got the table through the door without any problems and they began to set it up. "I'm so happy that Marik put in all of this effort just for Ryou's birthday" yelled Yugi from across the table "he really had all of this planned out"

"_To the dime_" whispered Yami under his breath.

"I heard that!" Yugi giggled and taunted back "What's the matter pharaoh not used to manual labor?"

"It's not that Yugi. I'm glad Marik planned this too. I just wish he would help with all of the work that goes with that." said Yami looking at his hikari after setting up the last legs of the table. Yugi was about to respond when his darker half suddenly took his sweat soaked shirt off. Yugi couldn't help but blush as he looked over his boyfriend's toned chest and tanned skin. He realized that Yami was staring right back at him.

"Like what you see?" said the older of two teasingly.

"Maybe, and if I do?" asked Yugi blushing at the thought of tackling his shirtless love.

"Well you better come and get it!' responded Yami almost laughing.

Yugi sprinted as fast as he could around the table towards his darker half making sure to slow down just before Yami swept him off his feet is a loving embrace. "I love you Yami!"

"I love you too hikari" the two of them just held each other for a few moments before Marik came back with the cake and yelled across the yard

"do you always do this or just wait till I'm watching?" Yami had a flash of anger. Marik always ruined these moments! That feeling dissipated as he looked at his love's shaking head.

"You just like showing up at the worst times, that's not our fault!" retorted Yugi. "We'll need to get the tent up before the guests start arriving."

Marik nodded and asked if they needed any help, but the both of them were too busy racing to the garage to pay him much attention. After several minutes of tying, hoisting, setting up and general hard work the tent was set up over the circular table.

"Looks good" said Marik after putting the cake on the table "though it took longer than expected"

"There were some _delays_" giggled Yugi and smiled at his Yami. Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Race me?" asked Yugi enthusiastically to Yami

"Sure" replied the older with a grin.

"Ready, set, g-" but Yami had already begun his mad sprint to the decks double doors. "That's not fair!" shouted Yugi who was right on his heels.

"All is fair in love and war!" yelled back Yami. The boys reached the front door at the same time. Yami may have been more muscled, but Yugi was a faster runner.

"Call it a tie?" asked Yami breathing heavily

"sure" breathed Yugi. They opened the door to see some of their oldest friends; Joey, Mai, Tristan, Serenity, and Tea. Even Seto and Duke were there!

"Uh… Yami… you're not wearing a shirt" Said Joey awkwardly. Yugi had entirely forgot and now found his eyes glued to Yami's sweaty chest again.

"I can see why" muttered Duke and everyone laughed making Yugi blush.

Marik came running up behind and screamed "Everyone inside, Ryou's on his way!"

Everyone rushed into the house and out into the backyard. Yami quickly got on a new shirt and joined them. A second table had been set up for the attendees to put their gifts on and it was filled quickly. Seto had even brought a present.

"Who was bringing Ryou again, Marik?' asked Tristan. "They seem a bit late."

Marik frowned and replied "Bakura and Malik are bringing him, and yes they are a bit late." Before anyone could respond the trio arrived. However, instead of the thin white blindfold Marik had told them to put on Ryou he had been handcuffed and blindfolded with what looked to be a thick rag of some sort.

Marik quickly rushed over to his love and asked. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Marik made sure Ryou was fine.

"He'll be fine. Stop smothering him" Responded Malik.

"I swear if _one _hair on his adorable head is hurt I will kill you!" shouted Marik angrily

"Calm down Marik he's fine I made sure Malik wasn't too rough on him" replied Bakura being the more sensible of the two.

"Thanks Bakura now who's got the key?"

"It's in Ryou's back pocket" said Bakura

"Thanks again Bakura"

"How did you get it out of my pocket?!" yelled Malik.

"Why did you think I asked you to change before we left?"

"To cha-? You sneaky bastard!" The group giggled as the two had their little fight. Ryou's hands were freed, and then Marik whispered in his ear "happy birthday sweetheart" and removed the blindfold.


	2. Chapter 2

Ryou nearly squealed when he saw the scene before him. All of his friends were gathered around him and Marik in Yami and Yugi's backyard. Ryou turned around and grabbed Marik nearly knocking the wind out of him and kissed him. Yami finally stepped in and suggested that maybe they continue with the party and wait until later for Ryou and Marik to make-out. This caused Ryou to blush, but Marik was still too shocked by the series of events to really respond. Ryou then went around and thanked everyone for setting up the party and coming.

"Yugi and I did most of the set up" chimed in Yami and Ryou gave them a big hug.

"I'm so glad to have friends like you guys!"

"The whole plan was Marik's idea" said Yugi after Ryou had let go of them.

"He always tries as hard as he can to make me happy, sometimes I think it wears him out. I'm really happy he did this, but I hope he wasn't too hard on himself to get every detail right."

"Oh he was" Said Yami "and tough on us too. The tablecloth had to be a certain color, the streamers must be set a certain way, the table had to be this big-" Yami stopped after a meek blow to the ribs from his hikari.

"What my darker half was trying to say is he wanted this to be special. It's not every day you turn 21!"

"that's true, thank you guys for helping Marik with all of this it really lets him calm down and get some tame to relax. I usually don't like parties; I really just wanted to spend the day with Marik. He's been so busy planning this, h- he hasn't talked to me much lately."

Yugi and Yami exchanged glances. Secretly Yami felt guilty for being so hard on Marik. "Did you ever tell him that?"

"Well no… I just let him try to do thing his way, it seemed to make him happy." Ryou looked at the ground and Yugi thought he saw his eyes get misty

"Maybe later today when you are alone you should tell him that you just want him to spend time with you" suggested Yugi. "But while you're here let's try to have a good time."

"Thanks Yugi you're such a great friend!" Ryou's mood clearly brightening. "At least I can spend time with him while we're here" the clink of silverware on a glass caught everyone's attention. It was Marik, he asked everyone to take their seats.

"Firstly, I would like to thank you all for coming to this party for Ryou's 21st birthday!" announced Marik while Yami and Yugi started to grill the burgers.

"Hey Yugi while I start this set of burgers how about you go get the beer?" asked Yami.

"Already?" questioned Yugi suspiciously.

"Yes!" insisted the older.

"You do realize Malik and Bakura are here right? If they get drunk it could ruin the whole party!" exclaimed Yugi.

"Fine, don't get the beer, I didn't want one anyway" pouted the pharaoh.

"Don't do that!" whispered Yugi

"What the puppy eyes?"

"Yes the puppy eyes."

"I'll keep doing it till I get my beer" and the pouting doubled

"Damn it Yami! Fine! I don't know why I love you." Yugi threw his hands up in frustration.

Yami replied "It's because I'm sexy, and you said I had a cute butt, and I'm extremely kissable, an-"

"I get it! I'm getting you and everyone else ONE beer." Puppy eyes work every time thought Yami as Yugi left for the locked alcohol cabinet.

"Lunch is served!" shouted Marik and the bull rush of people charged Yami and his grill.

By the time Yugi got back with the beer everyone had gotten their food and sat back down "took ya long enough" joked Yami "here, I saved a few burgers for you and me. Let me take a few of those beers and help pass them out"

"Thanks pharaoh" muttered Yugi under the weight of all the bottles. The beer was quickly distributed, but Malik had to be told three times not to drink before Ryou got his first taste. So everyone sat down and Marik helped Ryou open his beer. Bakura had gotten his camera out and started to focus it in. Ryou took his first sip, and spit it out "Ugh, that was awful!" the whole table burst into laughter, except Malik who had begun to empty his beer.

"Give it another try" urged Marik.

"Fine" replied Ryou clearly not enjoying the thought of another drink. Slowly he put the bottle to his lips and took a tiny sip. He looked like he was going to be sick for a moment but that slowly faded and was replaced by a large smile.

"This is great!" he shouted

"let's all toast to Ryou's first drink!" said Joey and the whole table replied "to Ryou's first drink!" and everyone drank, except for Malik who had already finished his and was looking to steal some of Bakura's.

The meal went on and everyone finished their burgers. Malik was sick of having to drink soda and desperately wanted something with more alcohol.

"Dammit Malik! If you wanted some beer you shouldn't have drank yours so quickly!" shouted Bakura at his annoyed looking love.

"Just one sip?!" begged Malik.

"No. You will just drink all of mine; you've done it before and you'll do it again!"

this wasn't going to work decided Malik so he changed tactics. "Hey Yami where do you keep the beer?" asked Malik.

"No" was Yami's response.

"No? No what?"

"You're not getting another" said Yami coldly, Yugi grabbed his arm hoping things didn't escalate too quickly.

"WHY?!" Screamed Malik.

"You'll get drunk and ruin this party just like all the others!" shouted Joey.

"Yeah, remember the time we went out to the night club after a tournament and you got into a fight with the bouncer?!" exclaimed Duke. "You even hit a waitress!" Tristan had stood up in case things got violent; serenity hid behind him to keep herself out of the argument.

"How dare y-!" began Malik who was quickly cut off by his light equivalent

"How dare _you_ handcuff _my_ boyfriend and act like such a _selfish slob_ on _his_ birthday?!" A hush fell over the table as Marik stared at Malik, his eyes drilling into what Malik had left of a heart.

Malik had bowed his head and his face was obscured by hair. "I'm sorry" mumbled Malik

"what was that?" asked Seto, surprised to have heard Malik ever say those words.

Malik suddenly lifted up his head, stood and with tears running down both sides of his face yelled "I'm sorry I'm such a terrible person! I'm sorry I've hurt you and your love on his special day! That was not my intention! It was never my intention to hurt anyone. I simply wanted to pull a simple prank but I guess I over did it. I _always _over do it. I'm truly sorry. I see that all I've caused you pain and I will leave." With that Malik turned from the table and stormed off.

"Malik! Wait! Please Malik!" shouted Bakura after his love. "I'll go talk to him. I'm sorry about all of this" and he ran into the house after Malik.

"Maybe we should skip dessert" said Marik now feeling awful about the fight. The rest of the group mumbled in agreement.

"I feel dreadful for saying those things to Malik now" said Yami about half an hour had passed since the fight. Yugi sat on his lap trying to figure out what had just happened. "I never realized he was just trying to get us to like him. I thought he was just being a jerk like always." After the fight everyone moved over to the pool and the deck chairs there. Joey, Marik, Ryou, Seto and Duke all sat with Yami and Yugi at the patio table while the girls were sunning themselves talking about hair and clothes and whatever girls talk about, Tristan had already changed and gone swimming.

"We all feel bad Yami, but what's said is said, and _needed _to be said." Replied Joey feeling as awful as everyone else for what he said during the fight.

"I really want to go apologize" Marik said finally "I shouldn't have freaked out on him about Ryou, it was just a prank and I overreacted."

"I don't think that's a good idea Marik" Ryou looked at his love and continued "I think we should let our darker halves talk it out before we interrupt them. I really think Malik is hurt by us not truly accepting him into our group, and Bakura's the only one who can help him heal those emotional wounds."

"I guess you're right. I just wish that there was an easier way for this to be done." Said Duke leaning his head on his hands.

"we all wish it was easier, but no amount of wishing can ever heal those scars only love and attention will do that, and only Bakura can give it to him." said Ryou furrowing his brow when he said it.

"You're such an adorable little philosopher" giggled Marik and tussled the birthday boy's hair. The others laughed too and eventually the conversation moved onto less painful subjects.

**Thanks for reading this far into the story please leave a comment or a review, it would really be appreciated! If there are any questions or concerns go ahead and PM me. I would really like to hear some constructive criticisms.**


	3. Chapter 3

Bakura strolled into the kitchen of the house and set his camera down on the counter. He heard light sobbing coming from the living room. "Malik? Are you in here?" knowing the answer Bakura came around the corner only to see his love crying into a pillow.

Bakura sat down on the couch next to him "Malik, I'm truly sorry for what happened. I never realized you felt that way. I know I should have seen you get angrier every time one of your 'jokes' didn't go as planned or you ended up hurting the people that you wanted more than anything to be your friends. I should have known that you were still struggling with your inner demons and I'm sorry for not helping you deal with them. I know I should have been there for you. I hope you can forgive me." Bakura sat there silently and rubbed his hand in small circles on Malik's back. Malik's crying had begun to cease and his breaths became more even.

"I'm so sorry Bakura" said Malik slowly sitting up.

Bakura was confused "For what?"

"For not telling you what I was going through, for not asking for help and trying to do this alone. I mean you're my soul mate for god's sake! If there was anyone that I could have trusted to be there it was you. I kept my feelings hidden and kept trying to fight this battle alone." Malik bowed his head in sadness.

"But you don't have to do it anymore" replied Bakura and interlaced Malik's fingers with his own, with his other hand he lifted up Malik's chin to look into his eyes "I will always be here for you and I will never leave you." This caused Malik to begin crying again, but Bakura grabbed him and held him in a tight hug. Malik's tears fell unto his shirt. The whole time Bakura kept whispering to him "I shall always love you Malik, even if the world rejects you. Even if you hide your true emotions from me I will always love you. For you are my one and only love."

Malik looked up at his love and through the tears asked "D- do you r- really mean that?"

"Of course I do Malik! There was not a day that went by that I wished I could tell you how much I loved you and always wanted to be with you and I wished that you would have said the same, but you seemed so cold and unfeeling I doubted it was true." Then the two locked eyes and kissed.

Malik was overjoyed to realize what he had been missing all along. He never truly wanted anything more than Bakura's love and attention. Bakura was so happy that Malik had finally opened up to him and that the two understood what the other felt all along. They broke the kiss and simply lay in each other's arms for a moment.

"Hey Malik?" whispered Bakura "how about we get you cleaned up and head back outside with the others?"

"wha-?" asked Malik sitting up straight. Talk to them? After all of that I bet they hate me more. Marik surely will, thought Malik. As he went to turn his head away from Bakura, his love whispered into his ear

"I shall be there with you." Malik suddenly looked back into Bakura's eyes and saw the love that they shared and the strength it gave him.

"I'll never doubt you again" said Malik throwing his arms around the one person who truly understood him and they kissed again.

" They've been in there an awfully long time" said Yugi looking at his watch. lunch had ended about 2 and it was now about 4:30ish. They probably need it thought his darker half; it seemed that Malik was really hurt.

Tristan had been chilling in the pool for a while and finally got Serenity, Duke and Seto to join him. Seto wasn't too thrilled about getting in but a quick push from his boyfriend Duke got him into the warm water.

Mai had come over and sat with the guys at the patio table. "Do you think we should go see if things are okay?" she asked.

"Probably not" responded Joey "they need to solve this on their own. Bakura told me that their relationship had been under a lot of stress lately." At the same moment the deck doors opened and Bakura and a red eyed Malik walked out holding hands.

They're so cute together thought Yugi and he looked over at his Yami. "I hope that means most of the anger has diffused between everyone." Yami said looking over at Bakura and Malik as they walked over to the patio table and sat down. It was quiet for a while with the exception of splashing in the pool.

"Malik we're all really sorry about what we said and we hoped you could forgive us" Said Joey breaking the silence.

"Forgiveness is a concept I'm… learning to get a grasp of" replied Malik cuddling up to his love. Marik wanted to tell Malik how sorry he was for overreacting but decided to keep to himself and wait until later. It was then that Ryou saw the table full of gifts.

"Hey Yugi, are all those presents for me?" everyone had totally forgotten about Ryou's gifts!

"C'mon, everyone, Ryou's going to open up his presents!" shouted Tristan from the pool. Everyone gathered around the table stacked with gifts. Ryou didn't know which one to open first. He finally decided on Joey and Mai's gifts to start. Joey got him a scale model of the empire state building, Ryou had a collection of scale models that he and Marik had built down in their basement. Mai had bought him… male lingerie. Ryou thanked them and felt Marik would enjoy Ryou wearing the lingerie more than he would.

Next were Tristan and Serenity's gifts. Tristan had gotten him a baseball cap and some cool shades while Serenity got him a foot massager which he thanked her greatly for. He loved to have his feet massaged, but Marik would never do it.

After that were the presents from Duke and Seto. Ryou opened the box from Seto and found not one but two brand new duel discs! "Those are the most expensive discs KaibaCorp currently makes" said Seto seeing Ryou's reaction. He expected the excitement however did not expect the hug that followed. This made Marik a little jealous, after all his Ryou was hugging Seto who was still only wearing his blue eyes white dragon swim trunks. Duke's present was a pair of leather pants and a jacket.

Tea's gift was the last on the table. It appeared to be a small jewelry box and inside were two inscribed half heart necklaces one heart said "I Shall Always" and on the other was written "Love You" they came together to form a full heart with an inscription that meant a great deal to several couples in the group.

"It's for the both of you" said Tea. "Thank you very much Tea, It means a lot." Ryou took the first of the two necklaces and placed it around Marik's neck. Marik then did the same for him. After the necklaces were attached they put their two pieces together and formed the phrase that symbolized their love.

"Thank you all for the gifts!" beamed Ryou.

"Bakura, we almost forgot about our gift!" said Malik, Bakura had been taking pictures since they walked over "I'll go and get it!" Ryou wondered what the gift from the two dark halves would be. Was it some kind of joke? Would it be serious?

Malik returned carrying a slender black box and handed it to Ryou. He took the box and slowly opened it, inside was a silver pocket watch with a cover over the timepiece. Ryou lifted a small latch on the side and the watch flipped open. On one side was an engraved watch ticking away, but on the inside cover there was a picture of Marik and him when they had first started dating. The picture was of them staring into each other's eyes almost nose-to-nose. Ryou smiled and his eyes got misty.

Malik bent down to Ryou's eye level "I know I've been a jerk, but Bakura has helped me realize that I've got to stop trying to make people like me and just be myself. This gift was all his idea; he was hoping that we could give this to you and ask you to forgive me for being a terrible friend. I still want you to know, I'm sorry for almost ruining your special day, can you forgive me? Asked Malik looking honestly into Ryou's eyes.

"We all forgive you Malik" responded Ryou with a smile and hugged him.

"Hey Marik, did you get Ryou a gift?" asked Duke, seeing that there were no more presents left on the table.

Marik replied "I got him a gift, but it's a bit more private and special than the others" a small murmur passed through the group followed by some chuckling. "It's not what you think!" shouted Marik starting to blush.

"Sure it ain't" laughed Joey barely keeping himself contained. Ryou was very confused and most of the group saw it. "Don't you get it?" asked Duke not believing Ryou couldn't guess the gift.

"No" responded Ryou shyly feeling very naïve.

"Birthday sex!" finally shouted Tristan no longer able to keep from laughing out loud.

"No its not!" replied Marik now blushing crimson "and if you want me to show you all I'll go and get it!" with that Marik ran to his car and got the flat envelope that had _"to my love" _written on it in red flowing script. Marik returned through the double doors of the deck and Ryou noticed he was carrying a square shaped envelope towards him.

A card?! If that's all Marik had gotten him he would be very angry. He hadn't even gotten to spend very much time talking one-on-one with Marik.

Marik finally reached him and placed the card on the table. "How about we have some cake first?" this caused Ryou to frown.

Why not just open the card now? Well, there was no arguing as everyone agreed that cake first sounded great, Ryou loved dessert so he also agreed that cake was a good idea. The people who had been swimming quickly went to get changed not wanting to miss the cake. Afterwards everyone gathered around where Marik had placed the cake.

Marik opened the box and inside was a plain chocolate cake with "happy 21st Ryou!" written in blue icing. Ryou loved chocolate cake. He picked up the knife, Marik got behind him and held Ryou's hands in his own and they cut the cake together as their group of friends sang happy birthday to him.

This was definitely a photo opportunity and Bakura took about a hundred pictures, much to Malik's annoyance.

After Marik and Ryou cut out the first piece Marik set it on Ryou's plate and said "happy birthday sweetheart. Hope it was the best!" then he took Ryou's fork and ate a big piece of his cake.

"That was my piece!" shouted a furious Ryou, nobody messed with his dessert, not even Marik.

"Want a taste?!" Giggled Marik. He then grabbed Ryou's head and kissed him deeply. Ryou was surprised by the sudden action but quickly went with it and he kissed his love back, he tasted chocolate but he wasn't worried about his dessert anymore. He and Marik kissed for a while and everyone just let them.

That was until Tristan spoke up "are we getting any cake?" The two slowly broke off the kiss and Marik giggled.

"What?" asked Ryou suspicious of Marik.

"You have some cake on your face sweetheart" and Marik licked it off, causing Ryou to blush. Bakura had been taking pictures the whole time and Malik finally told him to cut it out.

Everyone then got their cake and sat around the table.

Marik was about to go sit with the others when Ryou grabbed him by the hand and dragged him over to the pool where they sat at the patio table together. The two just sat their eating cake until Ryou spoke up. "Marik I wanted to thank you for putting all of this together."

Marik smiled and replied "I only planned it, Yami and Yugi did all the manual labor. I was pretty stressed about this and I'm glad you're happy."

Ryou frowned and continued "but I also wanted you to know that while I'm grateful for that, I just wanted to spend the day with you and I didn't even care if you got me anything or we had a party. I just wanted to spend time with you. Lately you've been so busy planning this party we haven't spent any time together."

Marik stopped eating his cake "really? I- I didn't know. I always try my hardest to throw a party and make you happy. This whole time you didn't want anything fancy or extravagant or time consuming." His voice getting slightly louder with each thing he listed.

Thank goodness he understands thought Ryou.

"You didn't want anything that I worked my fingers to the bone for or toiled over deciding for days!"

Oh no, Ryou now realized what was happening.

"Well then I won't do anything important for you ever again!"

"That's not what I said!" begged Ryou now seeing this had gone all wrong. "I'm not ungrateful, it's just the opposite! I wished you didn't have to work so hard trying to get everything perfect! My perfect day is spending it all with you! From the moment we wake up after sleeping next to each other. Until we fall asleep in each other's arms! That all I want Marik. That's all I've ever wanted."

Marik didn't know what to say. He felt betrayed that Ryou hadn't told him sooner, but he also felt guilty that he didn't ask Ryou what he wanted. Marik just did what suited him. If fact he hadn't worked that hard for this party. He knew everything about Ryou and so planning was very simple.

"I should have asked you" replied Marik quietly "I just wanted everything to be perfect for your big day."

"And it was" said Ryou looking into Marik's eyes. "The thought and effort you put into everything you do is one of the things I love about you" the two sat there for some time just looking at each other and eating the last of their cake as the sun began to set.

"How about we open your last present? Said Marik with a small grin "thought you would never ask" replied Ryou and the two walked over to their group of friends sitting around the table under the tent, hand in hand.

Malik saw the two of them approach and nudged Bakura who was still looking at all the pictures he had taken. The little fight between the two hadn't gone unnoticed and Malik wondered what it was about. They finally joined the rest of the group and Malik asked "had a bit of a lovers' quarrel?"

"Yes, but we talked things out and we came to and understanding" responded Ryou who then cuddled up to Marik's neck causing him to blush.

Joey and Seto were still talking about the relevance of duel monsters in their lives.

"Anybody want to see what Marik got Ryou?" asked Yami now seeing the couple standing behind Malik and Bakura. The conversation stopped and Marik went to go get the envelope. He returned holding the grey square envelope

"I wanted to make something that symbolized our love" and handed the card to Ryou who noticed he didn't say he wanted to get something, instead Marik had said he wanted to _make_ something. Ryou opened the card slowly expecting a hand written letter or a handmade card.

Inside there was a small silver disk with the words _"our love"_ written on it.

"That's just a CD" said Tea "how is that special?"

"Yami do you have that CD player?" asked Yugi, desperately wanting to know what was on this 'special' CD. With that Yami ran off to see if he could find it. In several moments Yami returned carrying the CD player/radio that Yugi asked for. He set it down on the table and opened the disk tray. One of his and Yugi's old punk rock mix tapes was in there still and he removed it. He then held out his hand to take the CD from Ryou, Ryou looked at Marik to make sure it was okay to play it here. As if understanding what he thought Marik gave a slight nod and Ryou gave the disk to Yami. Yami set the disk in gently and closed the lid. He then pushed the play button.

Ryou recognized the first song instantly. It was one of his favorites; _My Heart will go on _from _Titanic_. That was the movie that Ryou and Marik had gone and seen on their first date and it brought tears to Ryou's eyes. He looked directly at Marik and saw him also beginning to cry. Ryou threw his arms around him in a tight hug

"I love you!" the song continued and the two of them began a kind of slow dance.

Yami grabbed Yugi and they took the CD player off the table, moved the table over by the garage and set up a lantern from the center of the tent. After they finished their quick chore Yugi dragged his darker half under the tent and began to dance too. Soon all of the couples followed suit.

Duke noticed Tea didn't have a partner and left Seto for a few songs.

Each of the songs brought back memories of Marik and Ryou's time together. Their first dates, anniversaries, Birthdays, even the first day they met. Each song was a tidal wave of emotions and moments and Ryou was so glad that he had someone like Marik who he had shared them with.

The last song that played was _100 years_. _"I'm 22 for a moment and we feel better than ever and we're on fire, making our way back from Mars."_

Marik leaned close to Ryou and whispered to him "Yes we are" Ryou smiled and soon the song ended and all was quiet again.


	4. Chapter 4

The group of friends then moved the party into the house as the night progressed. Yami and Yugi said they would take all the decorations down the next day. The party had begun to settle down some of the couples sat by each other on the sofas or other available seats.

Malik was sitting on Bakura's lap in a recliner. The couple had always had a "we're dating but we aren't super public about it" kind of stance about their relationship, but Ryou had really noticed the two get cuddlier after they had gone in the house. Malik kept running his hand through Bakura's hair and Bakura didn't seem to mind.

Tristan and Serenity sat on the couch and he had his arm around her shoulders. Duke and Seto sat next to each other, Duke had both of his arms around Seto and leaned on him, Seto didn't look to keen on Duke doing this in public, but allowed him to do so anyway.

Yami held Yugi in his arms; Yugi kept yawning, but refused to go to bed insisting he wasn't tired. Joey and Mai were sitting on the large ottoman and were talking to Yami. He and Marik sat on the bar stools next to the counter.

Tea sat alone next to Tristan and Serenity. Bakura could tell her smile was forced, he knew she had a crush on Yugi before he started going out with Yami and couldn't find anyone that she really liked. Recently she said she had met someone who seemed like a great guy but didn't bring him because she didn't know how he would react to her homosexual friends.

Ryou understood, he noticed the odd stares he and Marik received when walking through the mall together or hanging out on the beach. Yami, Yugi, Seto, Duke, even Malik and Bakura had told him about the comments they would receive at restaurants or movies. One day they had all gone out for a nice dinner for Yami and Yugi's 5th anniversary. During the course of dinner Yami had kissed Yugi straight on the lips and Ryou could have sworn he heard an audible gasp.

These trivial things didn't matter to Ryou, he was happy and Marik was happy that's all he ever wanted, to be happy with someone he loved, and that's what he wished for his friends too. He was glad Tea started seeing someone new and hoped that they would be happy together.

Yami stood up and sat his tired Yugi on the chair and asked "would anyone like a sweet wine?" most accepted but Seto and Bakura refused. Yami poured the wine into each glass, passed them out and sat back down with his Yugi.

"How about a toast?" wondered Tristan "but what to toast to?"

"Let us toast to love" responded Ryou as he leaned over and kissed Marik.

"To love!" The group yelled in unison, waking up a dozing Yugi. There were several more rounds before the wine finally ran out

"Well, we better get going." Said Joey

"I agree" replied Tristan with a yawn. Tea had caught a ride with Joey and left with him and Mai. Tristan and Serenity were the next to leave, Duke and Seto left with a curt nod and a simple thanks for the party.

After that Bakura and Malik left "good night all, thank you for having us" said Bakura just before closing the door.

"You're welcome" mumbled Yugi in his sleep.

Ryou thought that they should leave too and let their hosts go to bed. "Thanks for hosting the party for us you guys" Marik understood this too and got up. "We should be going as well."

"I'm glad we could help" responded Yami cradling his hikari in his arms "We'll see you tomorrow too I'm guessing."

"I don't think so" giggled Ryou a bit tipsy from his first intro to alcohol "I have _other_ plans for Marik and me" Ryou then leaned over and nuzzled Marik's neck

"I had better drive" said Marik seeing his love was tired and drunk.

"Goodnight you two" said Yami as he closed the door behind them and locked it.

"Are they all gone?" asked Yugi suddenly awake.

"Wha-?" yelled his darker half clearly confused.

"You and I have a bit of unfinished business" Yugi dragged Yami to the couch and closed the blinds.

"Yugi I'm tired!" shouted the pharaoh seeing where this was going.

"Oh you will be" giggled Yugi now cuddling up to his darker half on the couch. "Don't lie Yami, you are way stronger than me if you really wanted to stop, you would have." Yami cursed his hikari for knowing him so well and kissed the smaller boy.

"Well then we're playing by my rules!" shouted Yami starting to get excited.

"Fun!" smiled Yugi and with that Yami grabbed him and rolled him unto his back, the two of them kissed deeply and then the fun began.

"Marik, my head hurts!" groaned Ryou the next morning.

"It's called a hangover sweetheart and it shouldn't last more than a few hours if you listen to me." Soothed Marik aware of what his lover would be going through the next morning. He had set up some precautions the day before and had already gotten up and grabbed some aspirin and a glass of water "here take these."

Ryou took the pills and drank the water before slumping back unto the bed and groaned "Thanks Marik you always know what to do" then he simply laid there and fell back asleep.

"Not always, but I try my best" whispered Marik and kissed his love on the forehead. Marik then went about preparing Ryou's favorite breakfast: Pancakes with extra crispy bacon. After Marik had finished making them both their breakfast he heard Ryou plod downstairs and into the kitchen.

Marik leaned over to say good morning, but quickly noticed that Ryou was still in his boxers. "Not even feeling well enough to put on your favorite footie pajamas?" he giggled from behind the counter.

"shuddup Marik" mumbled Ryou his words still slurred.

"I guess someone doesn't want their favorite breakfast then" said Marik giving a half-hearted pouting face.

"C'mon Marik I'm tired and I'm hung-over please just go easy on me today."

Marik giggled at his choice of words "oh I will, that is until you feel better." Marik then set both plates of food on the table and the two ate their breakfast in near silence. After the meal Ryou said he was feeling a bit better and would help with the washing up. Marik was glad to see his love get his energy back, he would need it.

The day progressed and Ryou didn't seem to get much better. He had gone to sit on the couch and was watching some movie marathon. Marik decided he must have gotten sick the day before and went to get the thermometer.

When Marik returned Ryou had started another sneezing fit, after he was finished Marik sat down next to him and said "bend over sweetheart I'm going to take you temperature."

Ryou looked back at him aghast and stammered "s- seriously?!"

Marik laughed at this, his love was so gullible. "No not really just open your mouth" Ryou seemed to enjoy this idea more yet was still hesitant. they sat there together and watched the end of the movie. After the credits Marik took out the thermometer and checked the temperature. He read it at about 102 degrees.

"You've got a fever" replied Marik, an idea soon popped into his head "guess this means I'll have to be your doctor" he smiled slyly.

Ryou's eyes widened as he realized what this meant, 24/7 Marik attention. This is what he wanted he thought he just wished he didn't have to be sick to get it. Marik had soon gotten him some cold and flu medicine and they just sat on the couch for the rest of the day cuddled in each other's arms.

Dinner rolled around and Marik made him some chicken noodle soup and spoon fed him while they watched some of their old sci-fi movies. The young couple later fell asleep together on the couch fingers interlaced and legs intertwined not having a care in the world.

**This may be the last chapter for a few days, hopefully have some more BakuraxMalik next! **

**-John**


	5. Chapter 5

"Malik we should really get up, it's nearly noon" Whispered Bakura into his lover's ear.

"Are you serious?" groaned Malik rolling over to face him. The two had come home, went straight to bed and fell asleep 'cuddling'.

"We have to get started on the second present" said Bakura to the tired Malik. Bakura hadn't taken all those pictures for nothing. He planned on putting some of the best into a scrapbook and giving it to Ryou and Marik the next weekend.

"Five more minutes, dear!" yelled Malik as Bakura began to pull the covers off of him.

"Fine but I'm going to go take a shower" and with that Bakura grabbed his towel off the bathroom wall and turned on the water so the shower would warm up.

"You'd take a shower without _me_?" giggled Malik. The two had gotten into a habit of showering together. It saved water Bakura had once said. Marik didn't care about saving water he just loved being naked with his lover.

"I will if you don't get that cute butt over here" shouted Bakura from the bathroom. Well damn thought Malik now he _had_ to get up.

"Wait for me!" he hollered back, falling out of the bed and unto the floor. Malik jumped up and ran into the bathroom, the shower began to heat up and things got steamy.

Later Malik and Bakura walked downstairs and made breakfast together. After they and eaten and put the dishes in the dishwasher, Bakura went to work on the scrapbook. Malik wanted to help but didn't want to sit behind Bakura so he hooked up the laptop to the TV and helped Bakura narrow it down to a hundred pictures.

"Better get this developed" Said Bakura after putting the last few pictures on the CD. Malik decided to go with Bakura instead of get stuck home alone.

"They should be ready in an hour" responded the man behind the register, seeing how similar the two boys in the picture looked to the couple standing before him he asked "Are these pictures of you?"

Bakura and Ryou had made a plan if people asked if any of them were related "he's my younger brother" Replied Bakura in a well rehearsed manner.

"So I'm guessing you're the blond haired kid's older brother?" said the man to Malik.

"yes" smiled Malik

"are you two dating as well?" man this guy had a ton of questions, but Malik _had_ made it very obvious that they were dating, they had held hands since they left the car and Bakura swore Malik had kissed him fifty times since entering.

"Yes, we are also dating" responded Bakura now wanting to leave.

"It'd be pretty strange if you got married, would one of you have to break off the relationship because they'd be dating their brother-in-law?"

Bakura gritted his teeth "I don't know, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it"

Malik stared to notice Bakura's temper flare and quickly found a way out of the conversation. "Thanks for developing the pictures; we'll be back in an hour, we have some more shopping to do. Nice chatting with you!" then Malik took his love by the hand and they left to get a cart.

Bakura managed to compose himself again and they went about their grocery shopping, mostly the basics: milk, bread, eggs, pasta, ect. Then they went to find a good scrapbook to put the pictures in. Marik found a leather bound book with the words "_Special Moments" _written on the front. It had about 100 photo holders and Bakura thought it would work great for the scrap book. About an hour had passed since that pesky employee had asked all the questions and the couple returned to see if the pictures were done.

They returned to the kiosk to see that he was no longer there and some excited looking girl had taken his place.

"A hundred pictures that appear to be of a birthday" she scrolled through the list "are these them?" she asked clicking on the thumbnail of Ryou and Marik kissing with the cake between them.

"Yes those are the pictures" giggled Malik seeing the girl blush

"Here you are, that'll be 75$" she smiled and handed them an envelope "they look like you guys" she said staring at Malik while Bakura swiped the credit card "they're a cute couple!"

The request finally processed and the two left the store and headed home. They arrived back home and began the time consuming process of putting the pictures into the photo album. They had nearly finished but had one photo left. Halfway through the process Malik noticed there was another photo holder on the front of the book and he decided that's where the picture that best summed up the night should go. He and Bakura debated about what picture it should have been but they finally settled on their mutual favorite.

"It looks great!" shouted Malik after it was all complete "how about we drop it off tomorrow instead of next week?" Bakura thought for a moment and decided that was a fine idea. The rest of the day had passed and it was about dinner time.

"wanna watch a movie?" yelled Malik from the living room as Bakura went to start making dinner.

"Maybe something Sci-Fi?" replied Bakura as he tried to chop a tomato.

Malik groaned "But we _always_ watch Sci-Fi! How about a romantic movie?"

Bakura swore loudly as he cut himself with the knife. Malik rushed into the kitchen to make sure he was all right and after getting him a bandage and washing it out, Malik volunteered to finish making dinner. Malik had made dinner without any more incidents and Bakura had found a romantic movie that he and Malik watched on one of their first dates.

"Dinner is served!" announced Malik bursting from the kitchen "so what are we watching?" '

"One of our old favorites" replied Bakura and cuddled up next to Malik on the couch as _The Princess Bride _began to play. The two ate their dinner and watched the movie; they laughed at their favorite jokes and cuddled closer during the romantic scenes.

_"Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind." _

"whaddaya say Bakura, think we can top it?" giggled Malik to his love. Suddenly Bakura grabbed him and the two kissed more deeply than they ever had before. They simply sat there deep in the emotion they were feeling, pure love. Nothing could ever destroy that and they then knew that they wanted to be together for the rest of their lives. They broke the kiss and looked deeply into each other's eyes. Bakura then leaned in close to Malik.

He whispered "I'd like to top you" and kissed his love on the neck. Malik giggled and they shut off the TV and went to their room for some more 'cuddling'.

The two had woken up the next morning about 9ish and had breakfast. They decided that after they were finished they would take Ryou and Marik their scrapbook. The two ate the last of their waffles, cleaned the kitchen and left for Ryou and Marik's home. They arrived shortly after and parked in the main driveway.

Malik strode up to the door and rang the doorbell, Bakura soon joined him and after a while Malik asked "so ya think their… ya know… doin it?"

Bakura couldn't believe his love had suggested this. "No way! It's too early, even for them."

Malik looked back and smiled "I bet you five bucks they are!"

"Deal" replied Bakura positive that he was right, they were probably eating or had just woken up.

Malik rang the doorbell again and Marik soon answered it in a bath robe. "What do you want?" he shouted furiously, clearly out of breath and sweating.

"We brought you a gift" responded Malik quickly not wanting to have the door slammed in his face.

"Oh" breathed Marik, seeing that they stood outside awkwardly he invited them in, but not before asking Ryou if he was decent. The group gathered in the living room. Malik handed Ryou the wrapped gift and the silver haired boy tore it open.

"oh my god!" Shouted Marik after seeing what the two darker halves had gotten them. It was a large photo album with the words _"special moments"_ printed on the front. Just below the words was the picture of Marik and Ryou kissing after Marik had stolen the bit of cake. The younger couple began flipping through the pages, often pointing to pictures and talking of the recent events. They finally got to the end and were speechless.

"I know this is your job Bakura but I never expected you were this good" breathed Marik clearly astounded by the gift.

Bakura replied simply "well Malik helped me too, but we felt that you two deserved it." Marik was speechless and Ryou's eyes had gotten misty.

"What's wrong?" asked Malik thinking that they had done something to cause this.

"I'm not crying because I'm sad" smiled the younger wiping his tears on his sleeve "I'm so thankful to have friends like you guys and to know that we'll always be there for each other."

Malik finally understood what it meant to be a true friend. To have someone's back no matter the circumstance. To always be there for the people you care about. He smiled, nodded and the older couple began to leave.

Ryou thanked them again for the gift and just before they left Malik asked awkwardly "so when we arrived were you two… doing it?"

Both boys blushed a deep shade of crimson and before they could answer Malik responded "nothing to be ashamed of just making sure!" and they quickly left. As Malik and Bakura walked to the car Bakura took out his wallet and gave Malik the five dollars.

"I never lose" giggled Malik as they got in the car "let's go home and celebrate a job well done"

**Yami and Yugi up next? Hopefully have it up this week!**

**C'ya soon**

** -John**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, sorry I haven't kept updating but I had no internet over the holidays and was spending time with my family. hopefully I will have the last few chapters out soon. -John**

Yugi woke up next to the warm body of his Yami breathing gently. Yugi didn't mind, in fact he enjoyed the sensation and just laid there next to him. It had been several days after Ryou's birthday. The two had fallen asleep on the couch after another little escapade and Yami had his arms wrapped around him. He was about to fall asleep again when he saw the time. It was nearly 10 AM! Yugi tried to wrestle out of his koibito's arms when Yami woke up.

"What are you doing hikari?" he groaned "what time is it?"

"It's nearly 10" replied Yugi quickly running to get showered "we have to get up and get ready, or we'll be late!"

"Dammit, I nearly forgot!" gasped Yami realizing that they still had to get dressed. The two quickly ran upstairs, got changed and by the time Yami had gotten back downstairs, his hikari was making breakfast. Yugi loved to cook and Yami never objected. His love was one of the best cooks he knew. Yami was wearing a black suit with a navy blue button up shirt and a white tie. Yugi was wearing a black vest with a light grey shirt and red tie. Yami was always amazed by how his lighter half could cook in dress clothes and not end up a total mess.

"You're looking awful dapper" giggled the younger "something special?"

"Only one of the biggest announcements our company's ever made" responded his darker half sitting down with his coffee. Yugi soon finished making breakfast and the two quickly ate their pancakes. They grabbed the suitcase they had prepared nearly a week before and jogged out to their car.

The trip to the meeting was full of conversation, what kind of products had they decided to announce, what partners had they enlisted, how were the stocks looking, And other talk about the state of Muto industries. The company had belonged to Yugi's mother, but was later passed to him when she retired, and he shared it with Yami when they were married. They finally arrived and gave the valet their keys, walked through the lobby of KaibaCorp and asked the small woman at the front desk to see Seto.

"We have an appointment to see Seto Kaiba" said Yami to the woman "it's very important."

"Mmm Hmm" she responded skeptically "and you are?"

"Yugi and Yami Muto" he replied coolly, they were some of the biggest names in technology how did she not recognize them?

Her face quickly paled "I'm so sorry sirs, take the elevator on you left and head to the 21st floor, Mr. Kaiba has been expecting you."

The two boarded the elevator, selected the 21st floor and began the climb to the meeting room. It took the elevator 2 minutes to finally reach the top. The couple stepped out, were led into Seto's office by his assistant, and looked dumbfounded at the scene. Seto and Duke were openly making out on his desk, it was Seto's office, but they should have been expecting them! Duke saw them over his love's shoulder and quickly broke the kiss then pointed to the open door and the couple standing outside.

"You're early" blushed Seto.

"Want us to leave?" asked Yugi just to poke fun.

No, No we have a major deal that we have to agree on today." Replied Seto, regaining his composure "so let's get to it."

The group moved into a meeting room full of executives from both companies. The basic plans were laid out and the minor details debated, by the end both sides had come to an agreement and the deal was sealed. Muto industries and KaibaCorp were going to collaborate on one of the biggest undertakings ever. Soon it was time for the world to know. A large press conference was held later that evening, however little to no details were released by either party. The whole process had taken nearly all day.

After the conference, Duke invited Yami and Yugi to join them for dinner. Seto looked annoyed that they weren't spending dinner alone, but the quick glance Duke gave him assured him that the other couple was joining them and that was final. The group then left in the KaibaCorp limousine and headed off to where Duke had made secret reservations for four.

They arrived at the restaurant and were quickly seated. They sat on the balcony overlooking the city. "This place is _so_ romantic" said Duke cuddling up next to Seto, Seto looked a bit uncomfortable and squirmed in his seat. The waiter soon returned with their wine.

"So how have you two been?" asked Yugi trying to start a conversation, and sipped his wine.

"Well just last week we renovated the back patio" said Seto starting to relax "we added an awning and some outdoor lighting. It lets us stay out there in the summer late at night and host parties."

Yami had been looking around the balcony and realized almost no one else was outside save several other couples that looked oddly familiar. He couldn't see any of their faces but could have sworn he saw Tea at another table with some guy; he quickly dismissed the thought as the waiter returned asking what they had decided to eat. Each dish seemed to be "one of the best the establishment has to offer" noticed Yugi. The conversations continued on into the night, how their relationships were doing, vacations they had planned, any important plans for the future. This continued on until dessert. Just before it had arrived Duke had left for the "restroom" and when the food arrived Seto's piece of cheesecake had the biggest question he had ever been asked written on it _"Marry me?"_

Suddenly Duke dropped to one knee and faced Seto. He removed a small silver box from his coat pocket and opened it "will you marry me Seto Kaiba?" inside was a simple ring with a small diamond set into the center. Seto looked awestruck, but instead of the big emotional scene they had expected Seto got up and nearly tripped over himself trying to get away from the table and the situation.

Duke nearly fell and Yami caught him "just sit down for a second" he said knowing that Duke would be going through a torrent of emotions. Duke's eyes welled up and he began to sob loudly. The other tables began to surround them and Yami realized that all of these people were familiar. All of their friends were there Marik, Ryou, Bakura, Malik, Tristan, Joey, and so on. There was one face he didn't recognize but was too busy trying to calm Duke to care.

"C'mon Duke I'm sure he just got cold feet" comforted Yugi "he may not have been ready just then and freaked out."

"Freaking out is not what you do when someone proposes to you!" screamed Duke through the tears "you may be shocked, but you don't just _run away._"

Yami knew Seto wouldn't have left and thought about going to "talk" to him. Yugi quickly looked at him and shook his head. He and his hikari must have shared some sort of mental bond and could always tell what the other was thinking. The group sat there and comforted Duke until he calmed down. By the end his eyes were red and he was clearly devastated. Suddenly he stood and tried to look as collected as possible.

"Whatever your thinking don't do it" pleaded Yugi grabbing his suit sleeve.

"I must" was his simple response and he went off looking for his runaway lover.

Seto couldn't believe what he had just done as he leaned on the railing of the second balcony. He had just stood up his one chance at happiness. Why? Because he was afraid, because no big news network knew he was homosexual, because he didn't know if he could handle the commitment? Maybe, but the biggest reason was he didn't know if he could have been the Duke. Sure they were great as boyfriends, but _marriage?_ He didn't think he would work out as a perfect husband for a married couple.

He heard familiar footsteps behind him and prepared for what was next.

"That was _unexpected_" said Duke and he leaned his back on the railing "champagne?" he handed Seto the drink and sipped his own.

"I guess you want an explanation" sighed Seto, knowing the rings of Hell he'd have to go through to be forgiven.

"Not really" replied his love "but it would make it easier to accept."

Neither of them looked at each other but it was clear that they were both deeply hurt. Seto took a sip of his wine and bowed his head "I just don't know if I'm good enough."

"Not good enough?" questioned Duke

"I'm worried that I'm not good enough for _you_. You're such a loving and caring person and I'm such a cold distant bastard." Seto's eyes began to get misty and a lone tear fell from the end of his nose.

"Seto?" he looked up as Duke said his name "ever since we started dating I've seen the loving, caring, giving, passionate side of Seto Kaiba you _never _let anyone else see. You let _me_ share moments with you news reporters only dream of. I know the_ true_ Seto Kaiba. I know who you are in here" Duke lightly placed his hand over Seto's heart "and not who you want people to think you are."

Seto stood there for a moment allowing the words to sink in. He had built walls all of his life to keep people out, his adoptive father, his business relationships, even his own brother, But Duke knocked them down one by one until he stood face to face with the real Seto Kaiba. The Seto with emotions and pain no one knew about, no one except for Duke. Seto knew now more than ever that no matter what happened he _had _to be with Duke, he now realized how much he meant to Duke and how much Duke meant to him.

He looked deeply into the bright green eyes of the man he wanted to be with always. "I'm sorry that I did that I'm so deceptive with my feelings Duke. I just have spent my entire life building walls to keep people out and you've broken through each one to find who I truly am. No one had ever done that, maybe I'm confused because these are the first _true _feelings I have ever felt and I'm scared."

His love just stared back and took a sip of his wine "I understand Seto, I know what you've gone through and know that you're not the most open guy about your feelings. You let me see a part of you that no one had ever seen before, it's true that I had to work to get that privilege" Duke giggled "but that's how relationships work, we have to work and keep active in our lover's lives, and otherwise we lose that true love that we share." He pulled Seto close to him and they just stood there overlooking the city together. "How about we have another go at that proposal?" asked Duke holding Seto's hand in his own. Seto simply nodded, and the couple left for the other balcony.

Yami and Yugi had simply sat there talking, until they saw the couple return arm in arm. They sat down in their original seats albeit a bit more red eyed. Once again Duke got down on one knee and asked pleadingly "Seto Kaiba will you marry me?"

Seto still hesitated this was one of the biggest moments in his life. Bigger than any corporate deal, bigger than anything he had ever done before.

"Of course" responded Seto finally, much to his lover's relief. Duke slipped the ring unto Seto's finger. He slowly stood up and they looked into each other's eyes and kissed deeply.

"I thought you saved that for after vows?" hollered Malik from another table.

Seto's eyes flashed open. What is he doing here? He thought to himself, before he could ask Ryou giggled "they're _so_ cute!" suddenly Seto realized all of the other balcony tables were filled with all of his closest friends.

"What are… how?" he stuttered, letting go of his love.

"We needed some witnesses didn't we?" responded Duke smiling slyly. "I thought who better than our best friends?"

Yami questioned "why didn't you tell us?"

"Someone needed to be surprised besides Seto" he said still smiling, putting his arm around his still confused fiancé. Seto blushed beginning to understand this was all set up by Duke, just for him. Just so Duke could propose to _him_ on this big day, today had gone from good breakfast followed by interrupted make out session by Yami and Yugi, that ludicrously long meeting and press conference. To finish the day with this, it was almost too much to handle.

"Seto, you okay?" asked duke looking concerned at Seto

"Sorry I'm just really tired from all from all of today" he responded rubbing his eyes tiredly and sitting down "we've just done so much today and I'm just a bit worn out is all."

Duke smiled back he understood. He was also worn out from the day and almost decided not to propose tonight, but decided to go ahead with it anyway.

"We are all tired Seto" replied Yugi yawning "maybe we should let you lovebirds go home and get some _sleep_"

"I don't think we'll be getting much sleep tonight" giggled Duke, causing Seto to blush. Seto leaned hard against Duke's chest and breathed deeply. Duke twirled his lover's hair between his fingers. And the two sat on the bench by the railing together for a while. Their friends came around and mingled, but began to leave the couple alone.

"Maybe we _should _head home dear" said Seto his eyes closed still leaning on his love. He leaned his head back and stared up into Duke's bright green eyes. "I guess your right" he agreed still playing with Seto's brown hair. Seto stood and Duke followed suit and the two walked hand in hand for the door, but not before the waiter stopped the couple and handed them the check. Seto's face paled, even though he was a multi-billionaire 10,000 dollars for everyone's dinner seemed outrageous.

"Duke…" started Seto beginning to redden in anger "did you know the food was going to cost this much?!"

"n-not exactly" mumbled Duke, he had told Seto earlier that night that they would pay for everyone's food. That way they could thank everyone for coming. He knew the restaurant but didn't expect the price that it totaled at. Seto slowly looked over the list of food.

"Who the hell ordered _twelve_ baskets of wings?!" He shouted clearly angry. Duke saw Malik and Bakura trying to be as hidden as possible and failing miserably. "You two!" yelled Seto pointing his finger and marching up to the couple "you did this! You ordered twelve baskets of wings! What were you _thinking_?!" 

"We were thinking we were hungry" mumbled Malik softly

"Seto we have the money and I told everyone eat until their full, I guess these two just eat more than 6 people _combined_" explained Duke, trying to calm his angered love. "Seto we have plenty of money to pay for it, we're rich, and we can at least pay for their meal." Seto gently rubbed the brim of his nose and nodded slowly. Seto wrote the check and handed it to an excited looking waiter.

The couple then bid everyone farewell and left for the limousine. Yami and Yugi were going to catch a ride from the "expensive" couple as Seto had started calling them. They hopped quickly into the limo and started getting a bit more than cuddly. The window between the driver and the passengers was entirely tinted for the welfare of both parties. The drivers of Seto and Duke _knew _not to open the doors until their passengers climbed out on their own time. The limo was stocked with several different types of alcohol and they had more to drink since they had gotten in. The two lovers stumbled drunkenly to the front door of their mansion, and rushed inside and upstairs. Duke shoved Seto on the bed and finished the fun they started in the limo. They fell asleep exhausted lying next to each other.


	7. Chapter 7

Joey tapped his foot. Tristan was never on time for _anything_. He and Mai had been waiting for Tristan and serenity for nearly half an hour. Joey had suggested going into the fair without them, but Mai suggested they wait. When they started dating Joey hadn't taken her for a caring soul, but after time he learned that her heart was as big as her breasts. He was about to suggest that they bail when he saw Tristan's sports car speed into the parking lot of the state fair. He grumbled angrily to himself about how Tristan should be a more careful driver while his sister was in the car, and Mai flashed him a look to stow it as the other couple jogged up.

"Sorry we're late Joey we got a bit hung up in traffic" Laughed Tristan out of breath "hey Mai how are you?"

"We're fine Tristan just happy you could make it, better late than never right Joey?" she responded kindly, Joey grumbled an agreement and Mai jabbed him in the ribs sharply.

"Yes very true" he responded "how are you sis, a bit of wild driving there don't ya think?"

His sister giggled holding Tristan's hand "Tristan likes to drive fast but he's real careful when I'm in the car." She smiled clearly happy to be spending time with both her boyfriend and her brother "c'mon the fair will close if we stand out here too long chatting!" she said dragging Tristan to the ticket counter. The group bought their tickets and debated what to do first. They finally decided on seeing the petting zoo first. While Serenity and Mai cooed over the goats and other baby animals Joey had a serious talk with Tristan.

"How have you guys been lately?" he asked trying to make small talk.

"Fine" responded Tristan with an honest smile "we went and had some ice cream earlier and went for a hike today, she seemed to have a fun time. She loves the outdoors." Joey nodded, his sister had always loved being outside. She loved the woods outside their old house and the beach that was only a block away during their childhood.

Joey didn't want to admit it but Tristan had always been very kind and sweet to his sister. Sure he was reckless at times, but he was always a nice guy to Serenity. "She's been happier since you two started dating" he said "I just feel concerned for my little sis."

"Joey, I know this is kinda weird for you. I mean we grew up and were basically brothers and now I'm dating your sister. I know you're a bit uncomfortable with this but we really are in love." Tristan leaned heavily on the wooden railing. "If you disapprove of me and your sis dating then I can break the whole thing off, but if I do then I will most likely move away too" he sighed heavily still leaning his back on the railing. Joey had brought this subject up before and he never had really made up his mind on the subject.

"That's not what-" Joey was cut off as Serenity and Mai returned from the animal pens. Joey nodded to Tristan that they would finish this conversation later. The two couples decided to ride some amusement rides; bumper cars, mini-coasters, and some spinning machines that nearly made Mai sick. Joey helped Mai off the last ride and steadied her on her feet "Let's go get some dinner!" shouted his little sis and Mai rushed to a trashcan.

Mai recovered from her incident and the group left to find some food at the fair. The four finally decided on a hot dog stand that looked more sanitary than the other places; they ordered their food and sat down.

"So Tristan how's your job going?" asked Mai picking up her hot dog slowly. Tristan and Serenity were not as rich as some of the other couples, but they weren't poor either. Tristan had recently gotten a job working in a major hardware store chain. He had been appointed to a management position after two weeks on the job.

"It's going really well" he responded, mouth half full "management pays a lot more than a cashier position."

"Tristan, don't talk with your mouth full" scolded Serenity frowning at her boyfriend "you're going to get food all over everyone." Tristan mumbled a quick apology and blushed lightly, causing Joey to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" questioned Tristan

"I've never seen anyone correct you, much less you accept the fact that they corrected you!" he laughed out loud. Tristan's anger flared, but he calmed when Serenity placed her hand on top of his and smiled up at him.

"Joey, Tristan has changed lately he's a hard worker, he always puts people ahead of himself, he cares about my wants, needs and our relationship Joey." She looked angrily at her brother. They finished the rest of their dinner in silence. Joey knew he had screwed up. It was pretty obvious to everyone how Joey felt about Tristan and his sis dating; he hadn't tried to hide his opinions either.

They left for some of the carnival games. Joey knew they were all rigged but attempted to play just to raise his spirits. It didn't help. Ever since they left the restaurant Mai had been supportive of her boyfriend and he wanted to thank her, but decided to wait until later. The last carnival game they played was a simple "throw a baseball at the milk cartons" game and Joey felt this one _couldn't _be rigged. Joey loved baseball and had played with Tristan in their childhood.

"C'mon Tristan I bet I can knock them down in two throws" joked Joey trying to fix the situation. Tristan mumbled a simple "fine" and Joey paid his dollar and got three baseballs. He threw the first and knocked down three of the cartons, Mai gave a little cheer and even Serenity smiled. Tristan remained indifferent. Joey set up for his second throw; he sent the ball flying at the central carton. He saw the ball hit solidly, but he also saw the ball bounce of the carton and fly straight at his sister. Serenity began to scream, but the ball never hit her. Joey was astonished to see Tristan standing in front of her, he had allowed the ball to hit him square in the chest instead of let it hit her. Tristan shot Joey an angry glance, yet Joey knew Tristan wasn't angry at him. The game's runner had seen what happened and had attempted to act busy, Joey and Tristan marched straight up to the man.

"What the hell! Even this game is rigged?" Joey fumed "you almost killed my sis!" Tristan stood beside Joey. He was usually a nice guy, but they were both well muscled and stood slightly taller than most men. Seeing him mad would intimidate even some of the toughest men. The man stood there shaking in fear of the two of them.

"Joey its fine, we're all fine!" shouted Mai consoling a still shocked Serenity "let's just go someplace else."

"I can g-give you a prize" stuttered the man finally, still cowering.

Joey sighed "fine, just stop rigging these games and give people a fighting chance" the man waddled over and grabbed a large stuffed dog off of a shelf.

"Can we have two of the smaller ones?" asked Mai sincerely. The man grumbled to himself but handed the two stuffed dogs to Joey anyway, he gave one to both Mai and Serenity. Serenity was still shaken, but giggled and showed the cuddly animal to her boyfriend. The couples walked hand in hand down to the carousel. The sun had set and the carnival was full of the colorful lights and sounds, the carousel spun round and round with loud music playing, each couple sat next to each other on one of the horses of the rotating machine. Joey had to help Mai off of the carousel; he finally decided that she probably shouldn't get on any more rides that spun around. The two girls skipped ahead and looked at some of what the stand had for sale Tristan and Joey lagged behind

"Hey Tristan, I really wanted to thank you for protecting serenity" mumbled Joey

"Joey, I didn't do it to make you happy or because she was your sis. I did it because I love her, because she means more to the world to me, because if she got hurt I don't know if I could have stopped myself from punching that guy in the face." Tristan stopped and stared directly at Joey "she is one of the few things that I wake up to every morning and makes me smile."

Joey stared back at his best friend "I know man. I'm glad that she has a great guy like you to be there for her. I know I'm not the most supportive guy of your relationship; I just want her to be happy and safe. You seem to be the perfect guy for that." The two stood there for a second glad that they got what they needed to say of their chests. Tristan reached over a hug "thanks bro" and the two friends embraced in a brotherly hug.

At the same moment Mai and Serenity turned around and saw this they both giggled to each other "Hey! Stop hugging my boyfriend!" they shouted in unison running back at them, the two guys laughed turned and caught their girlfriends in their arms. The two laughing couples decided to end the night with a ride on the giant Ferris wheel in the center of the fair. The line was short and the couples got their own seats. Joey and Mai got into the front chair and Tristan and Serenity sat behind them.

The lap bar came down and wheel began to spin and Mai threw her arms around Joey's neck "hold me" she giggled. Joey put his arm around her and kissed her, they broke the kiss and she giggled again.

Meanwhile Tristan and Serenity had started talking about their plans for the future "so Tristan do you ever want to have kids?" she asked.

"I've always wanted to have a son, but the most important thing to me right now is being with you, spending time with the most beautiful, kindest and sweetest woman in the world." Tristan looked deeply into Serenity's brown eyes and she stared back at him, they leaned close to each other as the Ferris wheel reached its peak and kissed.

By this time Joey and Mai's seat had ended up behind the other couple and Joey saw his best friend kissing his sis. He was about to yell but Mai jabbed him in the ribs again. He smiled weakly at her and she frowned back.

"I thought you said you were okay with them dating" she whispered "you've got to stop being so protective. That's what she has Tristan for now, they're a great couple and he is a great guy. You know that, just let her be happy." Joey let it go and settled back into his seat, suddenly the Ferris wheel lurched to a halt. Joey swore to himself and Mai looked worried, yet the other couple was still all smiles and laughs. Joey looked over at the guy controlling the machine and he looked completely calm as if the machine suddenly stopping was a natural thing. He and Mai looked nervously at each other and wondered if it would start again soon. Just as quickly as it had stopped the wheel started to spin again Joey breathed a sigh of relief and Mai leaned over onto his shoulder. They finally reached the bottom of the wheel and quickly hopped out of the seat. They were soon joined by the other smiling couple.

"Crazy stuff on that ride, huh sis?" asked Joey still a bit concerned about what happened. As he said it the ride stopped again.

"Joey the ride does that every 5 minutes just to give the motor a quick break" replied Tristan "I was telling Serenity about it while we were up there."

"I saw what you were telling her" Joey said under his breath, another elbow to the ribs from Mai. The two couples decided that they should head on home and Joey added a simple drive safe. Joey and Mai jumped in their car.

"What's your deal?" she yelled at him as they sat down

"Whadya mean?" he asked confused

"You say that you're fine with them dating yet every time they act like a couple or he's nice to her you find fault with it" she was clearly frustrated with him and his attitude and had only put up with it so far. "You guys were like brothers and now that he's dating your sis it's like he is a whole new person that you don't know. Joey at some point you've got to stop being so protective. Tristan is a great guy, you should be glad she didn't end up dating some jerk or loser." She let out an exasperated sigh and settled back into her seat arms folded across her chest. Joey just sat there for a moment he knew everything she said was true and that he was overly protective of his sister.

"I know I should just let her be happy but maybe I'm just scared to let her go. I mean she's my sis and she's the only person I have left of my family. I always want the best for her and I know he's a great guy I just can't get this feeling that maybe there's someone better for her out of my head." He said finally he looked at Mai "I know you're right, I need to let her grow up and be happy."

Mai unfolded her arms, looked back at him and nodded slightly "let's go home" she said and with that they pulled out of the parking lot and sped towards their house. Joey knew he had to let his sis live her life and there was nothing he could do to stop her.

**I know that chapter was a bit different than the usual writing, just give me a heads up if ya liked it or not! next chapter out tomorrow, its gonna be the last one of this story, but hopefully I will write another soon!**

**-John**


	8. Chapter 8

Several weeks had passed since the proposal and the group had now planned to meet up at the beach. It was mid August and this was probably the last time they would see each other this summer. "Make sure you pack the towels!" shouted Marik from upstairs "last time we forgot and I had to lie on the hot sand, _and _it got in my swim shorts."

"Like I could _forget_ that incident" grumbled Ryou packing their beach duffle bag. He always had to pack and Marik would act busy never really seeming to accomplish anything. Ryou finished packing and Marik rushed down the stairs looking flustered with two pairs of swim trunks in his hands "which one should I take?" he asked clearly unable to choose.

His love sighed "the left one"

"Are you sure?" he wondered aloud "I like the other one more"

"Then wear _that one_" growled Ryou ready to leave. Marik quickly ran upstairs again and changed into the swim shorts. He still brought the second pair along "just in case".

They loaded up the car and headed to pick up Yugi and his Yami at their house. They rolled up and the couple was in their front yard Yugi was chasing around his darker half, who was already half soaked. They saw Ryou drive up and Yami piggybacked his hikari to the car. They hopped in the back seat and left for the beach.

"Hey guys how are you?" asked Marik to the giggling couple in the backseat.

"We're good, pretty excited for the trip to the beach. Yami loves the beach and the sand" Responded Yugi still giggling.

"Bring all of your stuff you'd need?" Marik was pumped for this quick escape to the beach and was full of energy.

"Other than a volley ball and some sunscreen so Yugi doesn't get burnt to a crisp we didn't need much else" responded Yami his arm around his hikari in the other hand was their beach duffle bag. He had been waiting on the front steps for a short time when Yugi ran out and splashed him with a small bucket full of water. Yami had proceeded to run from him until Ryou had driven up.

The rest of the ride to the beach was uneventful, minus the gas station they stopped at and the casher woman hit on Marik. The finally arrived and saw that they were the first to get there. The beach was pretty empty and they set up their towels and umbrellas quickly. Seto and Duke were the next couple to arrive. Duke had driven his truck and brought a whole table and twelve beach chairs, Yami helped them set up as Yugi talked with the other couple. Joey and Mai showed up and had brought his sister and Tristan. The two guys raced down the beach and into the water, the girls came over to the rest of the group and set up their own towels. Tea had arrived soon after and had brought her boyfriend, the group briefly met him at the big dinner party, but no one really knew anything about him. Tea came down and introduced him to everyone, he seemed a bit outnumbered by the number of gays in the group but it didn't seem to bother him too much. That was until Malik and Bakura showed up in their jeep. The two jogged down the sand and Malik soon saw the new guy

"Who's this sexy piece of man belong to?" he joked, before Bakura slapped him on the back

"He's _mine _blondie. Keep your hands off of him." said Tea defensively "Bakura keep your dog on a leash."

_"Woof"_ Replied Malik now holding Bakura's hand. Each person grabbed a chair and had a seat Malik had brought two coolers full of beer and soda. _Big surprise_ thought Yami to himself, but he wasn't complaining he and his hikari were enjoying their cold beers and talking with the other couples. They found out that Tea's boyfriend's name was Dartz. He was a bit taller than Tea, teal green hair, well muscled, and wore tight clothes much to the attention of the other guys.

"So Dartz what exactly do you do?" asked Yami

"I'm an electrician" he responded "that's how I met Tea, she was having some trouble with power outages and I came and fixed the problem. We started dating the next week." He smiled and put his arm around Tea.

"An electrician, huh?" questioned Malik "how'd you get so beefed up?"

"I like to work out and Tea doesn't complain" he replied flexing his biceps.

"I wouldn't either" murmured Malik, the group laughed and Dartz blushed a light red. Joey and Tristan had stayed down in the cool water and Mai, Serenity, Duke and Seto had gone to join them. The small group was playing chicken in the water while the rest talked back at the table over a couple beers. Yami and Yugi had put their towels out to tan and Yami started applying sunscreen to his hikari's body.

Yugi shivered "Yami its cold!" he whined

"Remember last time you didn't wear it?" he reminded his koibito "you were redder than a lobster" Yugi frowned and shivered again as Yami rubbed more unto his back. Yugi then did the same for him, but he was a bit more enthusiastic.

"Yugi I just asked for some sunscreen not a whole massage" he said laying face down on the towel. Yugi pouted for a while but eventually finished and the two lay on their towels and tanned.

"Are they related?" asked Dartz "they look similar the only difference is one is taller and the hair is a bit different.

"No" answered Ryou "me and Bakura aren't related either if you were wondering, and neither are Malik and Marik." He was clearly confused but decided not to ask any more questions just yet. Malik, Bakura and Tea left to join the others in the water, leaving Dartz, Ryou and Marik alone at the table. Marik had thought Dartz looked familiar and finally decided to ask him.

"Dartz have we met before?" he wondered "you seem very familiar, did you fix our cable once or something?" Ryou had been thinking the same thing but didn't think they had met in person.

"You might have met me at my old job" he said quietly looking at the table "I used to be a bartender at _The Lucky Number_"

Marik almost gasped, that was a gay bar that the guys used to visit, after Yami and Yugi got married they had stopped going and just had drinks on the couple's back porch every Saturday instead. "Why were _you _working _there_?" asked Marik shocked.

"I needed the money and they needed a good looking guy." He responded clearly a little ashamed "it worked out great and they paid well. After a while I saved up some money and took a job as an electrician. Pay wasn't as good when I started, but that changed with commission and stuff. Got some big jobs at some mansions and made a good profit." he looked intently at the table trying to avoid the gazes of the other couple.

"You don't need to be ashamed man. We've all done things we're not proud of, but I've got Marik and you've got Tea. Someone who will be there for you and you can confide your deepest secrets in them." Said Ryou, he was always good at helping people deal with emotions. Dartz looked up and nodded he had a half smile on but was still troubled. The group talked for a while longer and he went to join Tea in the water. Marik decided that it was a great time for some volleyball. He got Ryou went to ask the tanning couple if they wanted to play a quick game. They looked over to see them nearly wrestling on the sand.

Yami had flipped over unto his back and Yugi began applying sunscreen to his stomach, but before long his hikari started tickling him and Yami knew he couldn't take it for long. He had started laughing uncontrollably and tried to wrestle out of Yugi's grasp, the two began trying to tickle one another, soon Yami pinned his lighter half in a very provocative position.

"You guys know this is a _public _beach right?" giggled Marik jogging over. The couple quickly got up and stood awkwardly, noticing some odd stares.

"Wanna play some volleyball?" asked Ryou catching up. The couple smiled. They never declined a game of beach volleyball.

"Thought you'd never ask" replied Yami with a smile.

The beach had several public volleyball nets and the group had set up close to one. Yugi ran and grabbed the ball while everyone began stretching for the intense game.

"We call first serve!" Yugi said jogging back

"Don't you want to stretch out first, get loose?" asked Yami, Yugi was always so excited he usually skipped stretching and cramped up.

"I'm always loose" responded Yugi, smiling slyly at his koibito and he stretched anyway, but not without some pouting. Yugi served and the game started, only five minutes in and they were all shirtless, diving for the ball, focused on winning. They had been playing for about half an hour before they finally called it. Yugi and Yami won and Yami carried his lighter half all the way down to the water on his shoulder, they both splashed into the water laughing. The entire group had finally gotten into the water. They wadded deeper into the water and Yugi couldn't stand. Poor hikari thought Yami; he hadn't grown much since they first met. Yami smiled to himself and picked up the smaller boy, Yugi then piggybacked on his darker half. They hung around in deeper water away from everyone else.

"Pretty exciting summer" said Yami "Ryou's birthday, Duke's proposal, and even today" they looked at their friends splashing around in the water, they had one of the craziest summers this year and no one wanted to return to their regular work schedules and the cold of fall.

"It's been fun though koibito" whispered Yugi and he kissed Yami's neck. Yami giggled, turned his head and kissed Yugi back. They broke the kiss and looked deeply into each other's amethyst eyes. They just stood there for a while thinking about that summer and the year to come, then went to join their friends and enjoy their last day of summer, the last day of fun in the sun.

**That is the end of ****_fun in the sun_****, but I will most likely start another Fanfic soon. any reviews or comments would be really appreciated!**

**-John**


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